Heater



' March 2, 1943. c. E. MEYERHOEFER- 2,312,767

' HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 21, 1940 I IINVENTIOR Z2 farllg ayerfiaeflr Y ATTO RN EYS c. E. ME-YERHOEFER 2,312,767

March 2,1943.

HEATER -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 21, 1940 IHIIIIIIHHHHHIH INVENTOR far] Megerime/er Patented Mar. 2, 1943 T OFFICE functionally improved heat exchangedvice;

Carl E. Meyei-hoef en Brooklyn,

E. A.,Laboratories, In poration of New York N. Y., assignor to c., Brooklyn, N. Y., a cor- Application February 21, 1940, Serial No. 320,036

' 20mins? (or. 257 137) This invention relates to a 'st'ructur'allya nd Q pable of use in numerous different associations but primarily intended to be employed in connection with vehicles and especially for'the pura pose of heating automobiles. two similar sections. Each section includes two] It is an object of the invention to furnish a pairs of tubes I0, both horizontally and vertical unit of this character which may be placed in 1y spaced from each other. One end of each an inconspicuous orconcealed location and by tube connects to a header l I, and a similar headmeans of which the interior Ora space will re- 10' er i2 is connected to the opposite end of the ceive an adequate amount of warm air which tube. The fluid flows through header l2 in its will be distributed evenly throughout such space. passage from one set of tubes to the other set A further objector the invention is that of of tubes. The header ll is constituted of two constructing'a heater which will occupy a' mini abutting portions having end walls, as has been mum amount of-space so that, for example, "it indicated at M so ,as to define a pair of adjamay be disposed below the seat of a motorvehi cent chambers, each having an opening '1 I5 cleto distribute air'to both the iorward'and rear through which fluid may enter or flow from the compartments of the same. Iti's 'to be noted; compartments of the header I. however, that by means of the present inven- The tube ID are enclosed within a casing contion that even when so disposed, the heater will veniently including an upper plate It and a not interfere with such functioning or adjustlower plate l7. Adequate heat exchange bement of the seat as may benecessary.

tween the air flowing past the tubes and the Still another object is that of furnishing'a ole heated fluid within the latter is assured by emvice of this type in which the B. t. ul delivery ploying radially corrugated ribbons or strips of will be relatively high and which will embody metal l8 which are interposed between the pairs comparatively few parts; each individually 'simoftubes as well as plates l6 and H. These strips ple and rugged in construction';these part-she are, of course, of suitable gauge and metal so ing properly supported againstshock and oper that a maximum of heat transfer is assured. ating over long periods of time with'freedom Additionally, they will serve to yieldingly supfrom all difiiculties. r port the tubes H] in that, in applying the plates With these and other object's'in mind greferl6 and I1, sufficient pressure is resorted to, to ence is had to the attached sheets of drawings place the entire core assembly under slight com-, illustrating one practical embodiment oithe inpression. I vention and in which:

' l Thus, aside from the fact that arattling of Fig. 1 is a plan view of the heater. the parts is preventedand the tubes are sup- 'Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. a ported against damage, air passages are defined, Fig.- 3' is a partly'sectionalplariview; taken which as'sure ample heating of the air as it'flows generally alongthe lines 3 3" and in the di through-the'core assembly; Also, 'atthis time rection of the arrows as indicated in-Figg2. itwill be noted that suchfiow occurs axially in- Fig. 4- is a transverse sectional" view, taken 40 wardly and, thence, radially outwardly of the along the lines 4-4 and in the directionoftheplates throughout the entire diameter of the. arrows as indicated inFig. 1; and r latter and excepting only those spaces which are Fig. .5 is a" fragmentary and enlarged sectionoccupied by the headers II and I2. a] view of an electrical connecting element which In order to secure t e plates against moveispreferably associated with the heater. ment, sleeves l9 may be employed which are" in As illustrated, the heater is relatively thin and line with openings in the plates. In turn} wide. Accordingly, it is ideally suited for'disthroughthese sleeves, the bodies of bolts may be position below the front seat of amotor'vehicle extended in order to secure the entire unit or in other situations where relatively small against displacement with respect to a supportspace is available. As illustrated; the '-air'-imingsurface. Strips 20 may additionally be peller is driven by a motor which=is extended utilized to prevent any tendency of the edge p01 beyond the face of the heater. The housingof tions of the plates to shift with respect to each this motor y, o crp oiect throughan other at'pointsat whichthey are not supported opening in the floor of the motor vehicle if the. by the sleeves '|9 i I r heater is disposed below thefront seat. Like- 5:) As shown,-the 'lowerplate 'I-l has thecircular w'i sefadjacent to this opening, further openings may be provided in" the floor to permit the passage of pipes or lines which couple the heat ex change element with a source of heated fluid.

The unit, as shown, includes a core formed of type of fan. The motor rotates, of course, in a direction such that air is drawn inwardly through the opening of plate 16 and this air, in striking the upper face of plate i1, is caused to be diverted outwardly through the interstices of the core. It will, of course, be appreciated that such flow is assisted by the deflector furnished by the upwardly bulged portion 2|.

In order to provide a guard for the fan '25, and also to furnish a support by means of which the heater may be carried, there is secured to the upper face of plate IS a pair of bars which extend across the opening of plate It. Of course, due to the fact that the heater is ordinarily placed in an inaccessible location-such as under the seatfear need ordinarily not be felt that fingers of some occupant of the vehicle will come in contact with the blades. Even in such case, however, the guard will at least serve to somewhat house the fan element 25.

As shown especially in Fig. 3, the raised portion 2| may actually be continued in the form of a somewhat oval outline. By this expedient, one of the motor leads 2'! may be extended through an opening in the base of the raised portion 2| and may be grounded against plate I! by being secured under the fastening element 28 which secures a clip 29. The second lead 30 conveniently terminates in a plug 3| coupled to a sleeve 32'. Also coupled to this sleeve is a second plug secured to lead 33 which extends through a switch to a source of power supply (not shown). The lead 33 may, as shown in Fig. 4, pass through grommet 34', mounted in the bulged or raised portion 21 of plate l1. Also the sleeve 32 may be enclosed in a tube 32 of di-electric material which is engaged by the clip 29,

In employing a heater of this type and assuming that it is to be disposed below the forward seat of an automobile, the fioor boards of the latter may be formed with openings to accommodate first, the motor casing 22; second, the lead 33; third, the tubes 34 and 35 coupled to the openings l5 of the header II and fourth, the bolts which pass through the sleeves IS. The tubes or pipes 34 and 35 are, of course connected to the cooling system of the motor, but may be coupled to any other source of heated fluid.

Under these circumstances, fluid will fiow through pipe 34 and tubes ID of one semi-circular section and through the header l2 coupling the same to the second section. Thence, it will flow through the tubes In of the other section to the outlet chamber of header H and to the return pipe 35. When motor 22 is operated, air will be drawn inwardly and be distributed radially outwardly between the edges of plates l6 and I1. Also, due to the fact that the tips of the blades 25 extend substantially in line with the edge of the opening defined by plate [6, the latter will act as a shroud plate for the fan, thus increasing the volume of flow.

In mounting the heater, it will, of course, be

understood that the bolts which pass through the tubes or sleeves l9 are, for example, secured to portions of the plate edges which are between the headers which extend forwardly and rearwardly from the front seat. Consequently, the air will be distributed as afore brought out and in proximity to the floor of the vehicle which is a much desired result. This air will then rise and evenly warm the entire interior of the space within which the heater is disposed.

As afore brought out, all parts of the heater will be properly cushioned, and thus it is obvious that among others the several objects of the invention, as specifically afore noted, are achieved.

It is apparent numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A thin heater for mounting between a vehicle seat and floor, said heater comprising a pair of semi-circular core sections, each section containing two pairs of horizontally and vertically spaced semi-circular tubes, a header having a pair of adjacent chambers secured to ends of said tubes, one header chamber providing for fiow into the tubes of one section and the other providing for flow out of the tubes of the other section, a further header diametrically opposite said first mentioned header and mounted between said core sections and adapted to provide a passage from one core section to the other, heat dissipating material surrounding said tubes, plates secured to each side of said cores and adapted to compressibly engage said heat dissipating material, one of said plates formed with a circular opening for housing a fan, the other of said plates formed with an oval indentation, a portion of said oval indentation mounting a motor for driving said fan, the remaining section of said oval being adapted for flush positioning of motor leads, the inward indentation of said oval portion providing an air deflecting means and a housing for a portion of said motor means, the remaining portion of said motor extending beyond said indented plate and adapted for extending through the vehicle floor.

2. A thin heater for mounting between a vehicle seat and floor, said heater comprising a pair of semi-circular core sections, each section containing two pairs of horizontally and vertically spaced semi-circular tubes, a header having a pair of adjacent chambers secured to ends of said tubes, one chamber providing for flow into and the other providing for flow out of said tubes, a further header diametrically opposite said first mentioned header and mounted between said core sections and adapted to provide a passage from one core section to the other, heat dissipating material surrounding said tubes, plates secured to each side of said cores and adapted to compressibly engage said heat dissipating material, one of said plates formed with a circular opening for housing a fan, the other of said plates formed with an indentation, a portion of said indentation mounting a motor for driving said fan, the remaining section of said indentation being adapted for flush positioning of motor leads, the inward indentation providing by its inner face, an air deflecting means extending towards said fan-housingopening and the outer face of said indentation providing a housing for a portion of said motorv CARL E. MEYERHOEFER. 

